JP3437702B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for supplying a plurality of different processing liquids to a transported substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Substrates such as liquid crystals and semiconductors are sequentially transported in a substantially horizontal posture by a transporting means such as a conveyor belt or rollers into a processing bath in which a plurality of processing baths are arranged in series. Predetermined processing is performed by supplying various processing liquids. As the processing liquid, for example, a developing liquid, a cleaning liquid, an etching liquid, a stripping liquid, pure water, or the like having different properties is used, and different processing liquids are supplied to the respective processing tanks.
A partition wall having an opening through which a substrate is passed is provided between the processing tanks, and the opening allows the substrates to be transferred between the processing tanks. I try not to mix them.

However, when the substrate to which the processing liquid is supplied in the upper processing tank is conveyed to the lower processing tank through the opening, the upper processing liquid adheres to the substrate transferred to the lower processing tank. Therefore, in the lower processing tank, the upper processing liquid and the lower processing liquid are mixed with each other on the substrate, and the property of the lower processing liquid changes, resulting in defective processing of the substrate. Occurs.

Further, in the good side processing tank, it is general to carry out a so-called circulating use of the processing liquid, in which the processing liquid supplied to the substrate is recovered and supplied again to the substrate. In this case, if the processing liquid on the right side adheres to the substrate transferred from the processing tank on the right side to the processing tank on the lower side, the processing liquid on the right side is taken out from the processing tank on the right side to the processing tank on the lower side, The processing liquid circulated in the side processing tank is reduced. In order to compensate for the decrease in the processing solution on the good side, a new processing solution has to be added, which causes a problem that the production cost increases.

As a substrate processing apparatus adopting measures for avoiding these problems, air knives facing the front and back surfaces of the substrate are provided at the boundary between the upper processing tank and the lower processing tank. It is known that a liquid draining device is provided so that the processing liquid on the upper side is not taken out to the processing tank on the lower side by discharging gas to the front and back surfaces of the substrate.

[0006]

By the way, in the case where an air knife is provided at the exit portion of the above-mentioned upper processing tank, the front and back surfaces of the substrate are partially dried by the discharge of gas from the air knife. Due to this partial drying, the processing liquid on the right side is dried and a thin film of the processing liquid is deposited on the front and back surfaces of the substrate. Further, when the processing in the superior processing tank is the development processing, the resist remaining on the surface of the substrate from which the resist should be removed dries and a thin film of the resist is deposited. Thus, when the front and back surfaces of the substrate are partially dried, that is, when the thin film is partially deposited on the front and back surfaces of the substrate, the thin film is formed when the processing liquid on the lower side is supplied to the substrate in the lower processing tank. It becomes difficult for a desired treatment to proceed in the deposited portion due to cleaning treatment or the like. That is, since there is a difference in the progress of processing between the part where the thin film is applied and the part where the thin film is not applied, spot-like or band-like unevenness occurs on the front and back surfaces of the substrate. Such unevenness also affects the final product and appears as display unevenness when the final product is a liquid crystal display.

In order to prevent the unevenness from occurring, the substrate may be transferred from the upper processing tank to the lower processing tank without partially drying the front and back surfaces of the substrate. However, the pressure of the gas discharged from the air knife provided in the above liquid draining device is controlled so as to minimize the carry-out of the processing liquid on the upstream side from the upstream processing tank and prevent the front and back surfaces of the substrate from being partially dried. It was very difficult to control the flow rate.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and does not partially dry the front and back surfaces of the substrate when the substrate is transferred from the upper processing tank to the lower processing tank. Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of performing necessary and sufficient drainage of the processing liquid on the good side.

[0009]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In the substrate processing apparatus for performing predetermined processing by supplying a plurality of different processing solution while conveying the substrate, a first processing liquid supplying means for supplying a first processing liquid to the main surface of the substrate, the
The substrate, to which the first processing liquid is supplied from the first processing liquid supply means , is supported while being supported in a substantially horizontal posture, and is directed toward the main surface of the substrate, and in a direction opposite to the transfer direction of the substrate. The first treatment liquid is jetted over the width direction of the substrate in a direction inclined at a predetermined angle to perform the treatment with the first treatment liquid.
Supplying a liquid removal means, the second processing solution different from the first treatment liquid to the main surface of the substrate which is drained off for performing main surface draining of the substrate layer of the first treatment liquid has been formed after being It has a 2nd process liquid supply means, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

According to the present invention, the first processing liquid is supplied from the first processing liquid supply means to the substrate conveyed in the horizontal position by the conveying means, and the predetermined treatment is applied to the main surface of the substrate by the first processing liquid. After being applied, since the first processing liquid is jetted obliquely in the direction opposite to the transport direction by the liquid draining means on the main surface, the jetting of the first processing liquid blows off the processing liquid present on the main surface of the substrate. As a result, a minimum amount of the first processing liquid is present in a thin film state on the downstream side of the portion of the main surface onto which the first processing liquid is sprayed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the carry-out amount of the first processing liquid from the processing region of the first processing liquid to the processing region of the second processing liquid, so that a large amount of the first processing liquid is mixed in the second processing liquid. Therefore, the adverse effect on the substrate processing due to the mixing of the first processing liquid with the second processing liquid is avoided.

Further, since the same first processing liquid is used for draining the first processing liquid on the substrate, as compared with the conventional case where liquid draining is performed by discharging gas from an air knife. Thus, the main surface of the substrate is not partially dried, and unevenness due to partial drying of the main surface of the substrate is prevented. Well
The invention according to claim 2 is the substrate processing according to claim 1.
In the apparatus, the liquid draining means supplies the first processing liquid.
The first processing liquid is jetted onto the substrate at a pressure higher than that of the means.
It is characterized by and. The invention according to claim 3
In the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
At a higher speed than during supply of the processing liquid by the first processing liquid supply means.
While transporting the substrate, the first processing liquid is supplied by the liquid draining means.
It is characterized in that it is configured to supply.

[0012] The invention of claim 4, wherein the claim 1 乃
In the invention described in any one of 3 to 3, a first processing bath provided with a first processing liquid supply means and a draining means, and a second processing liquid supply means provided adjacent to the first processing bath. And a partition wall having an opening that allows the substrate to pass therethrough and a first processing liquid supplied to the substrate from the first processing liquid supply means. And a circulation unit that circulates the recovered first processing liquid so as to supply the recovered first processing liquid from the first processing liquid supply unit to the substrate.

According to the present invention, the substrate is supplied with the first processing liquid by the first processing liquid supply means on the main surface in the first processing tank, and then the substrate is supplied with the first processing liquid by the liquid draining means. The liquid is drained by the jet supply and conveyed through the opening of the partition wall into the second treatment tank, where the second treatment liquid is supplied from the second treatment liquid supply means to the main surface to perform a predetermined treatment. To be done. Then, since the first processing liquid supplied to the substrate in the first processing tank is recovered by the circulation means and is circulated and used, the amount of the first processing liquid used can be reduced.

[0014]

1 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention. Substrate processing apparatus 1
Is formed by arranging a plurality of processing tanks 11 in parallel so as to be adjacent to each other. Each processing tank 11 has a rectangular parallelepiped substrate processing chamber 12 for processing the substrate B at the top. The substrate processing chambers 12 are formed so as to sandwich a partition wall 13, and the partition wall 13 has an opening 13a through which the substrate B passes. The substrate B is sequentially transported from the processing tank 11 on the left side in FIG. 1 toward the processing tank 11 on the right side in FIG. 1 through these openings 13a. Substrate processing chamber 12
A mortar-shaped funnel portion 12a is provided in the lower part of the substrate, and the processing liquid supplied to the substrate B is collected therein.

Inside each processing tank 11, a plurality of rollers (conveying means) 14 having an axis perpendicular to the conveying direction of the substrate B are arranged in parallel along the conveying direction. These rollers 14
Are set in the substrate processing chamber 12 at substantially the same height as the opening 13a and arranged side by side. The substrate B placed on the rollers 14 is moved by the rotation of the rollers 14 through the opening 13a to move from the upper processing tank 11 to the lower processing tank 11. Hereinafter, in FIG. 1, the processing tank 11 on the left side of the central portion is referred to as the upper processing tank 2, and the processing tank 11 on the right side is referred to as the lower processing tank 3.

The proper side treatment tank 2 is provided at a proper position.
There is provided an upper-hand side driving means 142 for rotating the inner rollers 14 simultaneously while synchronizing them. The superior drive means 142 has a drive motor (not shown), a drive force transmission means such as a timing belt and a gear, and the like, and the drive force of the drive motor is transmitted through the drive force transmission means to the superior processing tank. It is transmitted to each of the rollers 14 in the No. 2 so that each of the rollers 14 is rotated.

Further, the lower side driving means 1 having the same structure as the upper side driving means 142 for rotating the rollers 14 in the substrate processing chamber 12 at the appropriate places of the lower side processing tank 3 in synchronization with each other.
43 is provided so that each roller 14 in the lower processing tank 3 can rotate.

The above-mentioned upper side processing tank 2 has an upper side liquid sprinkling tube 21 arranged above the row of rollers 14 in the substrate processing chamber 12, and from this upper side liquid sprinkling tube 21 onto the rollers 14. The processing liquid X on the right side is supplied toward the surface of the substrate B. The substrate B is supplied by the supply of the processing liquid X on the good side.
The surface of is subjected to a predetermined treatment. The good processing liquid X used for processing the substrate B drops from the edge portion of the substrate B and is collected in the good liquid distilling tank 22 provided below the funnel portion 12a. There is.

Between the upper side liquid distilling tank 22 and the upper side liquid sprinkling pipe 21, the upper side processing liquid X for supplying the upper hand side processing liquid X in the upper side liquid distilling tank 22 to the upper side liquid sprinkling pipe 21 is supplied. A liquid supply conduit 23 is provided. A processing liquid supply pump 23a and a filter 23b are sequentially provided from the upstream side to the upper processing liquid supply pipe 23, and the upper processing liquid X in the upper liquid distilling tank 22 is driven by driving the processing liquid supply pump 23a. Are being used in circulation.

The lower processing bath 3 has a plurality of lower liquid spray pipes 31 arranged above the row of rollers 14 in the substrate processing chamber 12. Roller 1 from this lower side spray pipe 31
The lower-side processing liquid Y is supplied toward the surface of the substrate B on the substrate 4, so that the surface of the substrate B is subjected to predetermined processing. Then, the lower processing liquid Y used for processing the substrate B drops from the edge portion of the substrate B, and the funnel portion 1
Lower side liquid distilling tank 3 provided at the bottom through 2a
It is supposed to be collected in 2.

Between the lower side liquid distilling tank 32 and the lower side liquid sprinkling pipe 31, the lower side processing liquid Y in the lower side liquid distilling tank 32 is supplied to the lower side liquid sprinkling pipe 31. A liquid supply pipeline 33 is provided, and the processing liquid supply pipeline 33 is provided with a processing liquid supply pump 33a and a filter 33b from the upstream side.
By driving a, the lower processing liquid Y in the lower liquid distilling tank 32 is circulated and used.

In this embodiment, the resist film formed on the surface of the substrate B is developed in the upper processing tank 2 by using an alkaline developer as the upper processing liquid X, and the lower processing tank 3 is processed. The substrate B after the development processing is cleaned by using cleaning water as the lower side processing liquid Y therein.

The substrate B to which the upper processing liquid X is supplied is provided on the upper processing tank 2 side of the partition wall 13 between the processing tanks 2 and 3.
A liquid knife (liquid draining means) 4 for injecting the good-side treatment liquid X is provided on the surface of the. This liquid knife 4
Is supplied with the high-pressure processing liquid Xa obtained by pressurizing the upper-side processing liquid X in the upper-side liquid distilling tank 22. Therefore, a high-pressure pipe 24 is provided between the liquid knife 4 and the upper-side liquid distilling tank 22, and a high-pressure liquid feed pump 24a and a filter 24b are attached in series to the high-pressure pipe 24. Therefore, by driving the high-pressure liquid feed pump 24a, the upper processing liquid X in the upper liquid distilling tank 22 is processed.
Is suction-pressurized by the high-pressure liquid feed pump 24a, and the high-pressure line 24
And is supplied to the liquid knife 4 via the filter 24b.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of the liquid knife 4 provided on the upstream side of the partition wall 13, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid knife 4. As shown in these figures, the liquid knife 4 includes a knife body 41 and a liquid passage 4 provided in the knife body 41.
2 and a nozzle portion 43 having a liquid injection port 43a communicating with the liquid passage 42. The liquid passage 42 is formed over substantially the entire length of the knife body 41 in the longitudinal direction. The liquid ejection port 43a is formed in a slit shape in the longitudinal direction, and the slit-shaped liquid ejection port 43a is formed.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the high-pressure treatment liquid Xa is discharged in a curtain shape.

Further, on the upstream side of the knife body 41, there is provided a cylindrical connecting portion 44 in which a male screw (FIG. 3) is screwed at a substantially central portion in the width direction. 44 communicates with the liquid passage 42. Above-mentioned processing liquid supply pipeline 2
A cap nut-shaped joint member 23c is laid at the downstream end of 3, and the joint member 23c is connected to the connecting portion 44.
The upper processing liquid supply pipe line 23 and the liquid knife 4 are connected to each other by being screwed into the.

The upper processing tank 2 has a pair of columns 13b in the width direction which are erected on the upper side of the partition wall 13 (see FIG. 2).
The column 13b on the right side is not shown in the figure), and the columnar support rods 13c are integrally projectingly provided on the upper portions of the pair of columns 13b so as to face each other. Each support rod 13c on both sides
A pair of outer fitting cylinders 45 externally fitted to the support rod 13c are provided integrally with each other (the right outer fitting cylinder 45 is not shown in FIG. 2), and the left and right outer fitting cylinders 45 correspond to the corresponding support rods 13c. When the liquid knife 4 is fitted onto the support rod 13,
It is rotatable about the axis of c.

A fastening screw 46 penetrating from the outer peripheral surface toward the inside of the barrel is screwed to each of the outer fitting barrels 45. By fastening the fastening screw 46, the support rod 13c of the liquid knife 4 is secured. The rotation is locked. Therefore, the liquid knife 4 is rotated around the support rod 13c with the fastening screw 46 loosened,
By tightening the fastening screw 46 when the liquid knife 4 reaches the desired tilted posture, the set tilted posture of the liquid knife 4 is maintained.

The inclination angle α of the nozzle portion 43 with respect to the horizontal plane of the liquid passage is set within the range of 5 ° to 80 °. The reason is that if the inclination angle α is less than 5 °, the jet liquid flow jetted from the liquid jet port 43a passes through the surface of the substrate B while stroking it, and thus adheres to the surface of the substrate B. This is because it is not possible to reliably remove the existing upper processing liquid X, and when the inclination angle exceeds 80 °, a liquid flow toward the lower side due to the upper processing liquid X discharged onto the substrate B is formed. Therefore, the carry-out amount of the good-side processing liquid X is increased. Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the inclination angle α is set to 30 °.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of lower liquid sprinkling tubes 31 are arranged in the lower processing tank 3 in parallel to the direction orthogonal to the substrate B transport direction. A plurality of sprinkling nozzles are juxtaposed at equal pitches at the bottom of the lower-hand side sprinkling pipe 31, and the lower-hand side treatment liquid Y supplied from the lower-hand side liquid distilling tank 32 through the lower-hand side treatment liquid supply pipe line 33 The liquid is supplied onto the surface of the substrate B from the plurality of liquid spray nozzles.

Therefore, the substrate B conveyed from the upper processing tank 2 to the lower processing tank 3 by the rotational driving of the roller 14
When passing through the opening 13a of the partition wall 13, the surface thereof receives the high-pressure treatment liquid Xa from the liquid jet port 43a of the liquid knife 4 from diagonally above, as shown in FIG. The upper-side processing liquid layer X1 formed on the surface of the substrate B is pushed to the upstream side by the liquid flow from the liquid injection port 43a toward the upstream side, and thus the substrate passing through the opening 13a. On the surface of B, the good side processing liquid layer X
1 is removed.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the control system of the substrate processing apparatus 1. As shown in this figure and FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 1 has a control means 5 for controlling the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1. This control means 5
Is a transfer control means (not shown), a drainage control means, and
Substrate swing control means.

When the substrate B is processed in the upper processing tank 2 or in the lower processing tank 3, the transfer control means transfers the substrate at a low speed (approximately 1 m / min) and also transfers the substrate B. When carrying from the upper hand side processing tank 2 to the lower hand side processing tank 3, a control signal is outputted to the upper hand side driving means 142 and the lower hand side driving means 143 so as to carry at a high speed (about 8 m / min). The liquid draining control means controls the liquid knife 4 to inject the high-pressure processing liquid Xa at the start of the transfer of the substrate B from the upper processing tank 2 to the lower processing tank 3 in synchronization with the control of the transfer control means. The signal is output to the high-pressure liquid feed pump 24a. Further, the substrate swing control means outputs a control signal for swinging the substrate B in the transport direction to the upstream drive means 142 while the upstream processing liquid X is being supplied to the substrate B.

On the other hand, in the substrate processing chamber 12 of the superior processing bath 2, the substrate processing chamber 1 for the substrate B is provided near the opening 13a on the upstream side.
2 is provided with a first position sensor 51 for detecting the entry into the inside of the substrate 2, and the substrate B is provided near the opening 13a on the downstream side.
A second position sensor 52 for detecting the advance from the upper processing tank 2 is provided. Then, during the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1, the processing liquid supply pumps 23a and 33a of the processing tanks 2 and 3 are provided.
Of the position sensors 51,
The detection signal of 52 is input to the control means 5 one by one, and the control means 5 outputs a control signal based on this detection signal to the high-pressure liquid feed pump 24a, the upper hand side driving means 142, and the lower hand side driving means 143. The operation control of the substrate processing apparatus 1 is executed.

For example, when the second position sensor 52 detects the substrate B, the control signal from the control means 5 temporarily stops the upper drive means 142, and then the normal drive means 142 is reversed at a predetermined time pitch. Driven.

The rollers 14 rotate in the forward and reverse directions by the forward and reverse drive of the upper drive means 142, whereby the rollers 1 are rotated.
The substrate B on 4 is swung along the transport direction. Then, the oscillating substrate B is supplied with the upper-side processing liquid X from the upper-side liquid sprinkling tube 21 on its surface and is subjected to a predetermined process. The control means 5 has a substrate swing control means (not shown) that outputs a control signal for swinging.

Then, after a lapse of a predetermined time, the high-pressure liquid feed pump 24a is driven by the control signal from the control means 5, and the upper-hand side driving means 142 and the lower-hand side driving means 143 are driven at high speed. The rollers 14 in the side processing tank 2 and the lower processing tank 3 are normally rotated at a high speed, so that the substrate B is transferred from the upper processing tank 2 to the lower processing tank 3 at a high speed (8 m / min).

The high-pressure processing liquid Xa is jetted and supplied from the liquid knife 4 onto the surface of the substrate B in the high-speed transport state, and the jetting flow of the jetting liquid causes the high-side processing formed on the surface of the substrate B as shown in FIG. The liquid layer X1 is pushed to the upstream side, and the good-side processing liquid X is thinly and uniformly present on the surface of the substrate B on the downstream side of the injection point of the high-pressure processing liquid Xa.

When the substrate B has finished passing through the lower portion of the liquid knife 4, the second position sensor 52 detects it and the control signal from the control means 5 based on this detects that the driving of the high-pressure liquid feed pump 24a is stopped. At the same time, the upper-side driving means 142 and the lower-side driving means 143 are returned to the normal drive, whereby the substrate B introduced into the lower-side processing tank 3 is conveyed by the rollers 14 at a normal conveying speed,
Processing is performed by supplying the lower processing liquid Y from the lower liquid sprinkling tube 31.

Operation control of such a substrate processing apparatus 1 is as follows.
It is executed every time the substrate B is introduced into the good side processing bath 2, and continuously in a state where the carry-out amount of the good side processing liquid X accompanying the transfer of the substrate B into the lower side processing bath 3 is minimized. The substrate B is sequentially subjected to a predetermined process.

In the present invention, as described in detail above, the upper side processing tank 2 at the boundary between the upper side processing tank 2 and the lower side processing tank 3
Since the liquid knife 4 is provided on the side, and the high-pressure processing liquid Xa is jetted obliquely from the liquid knife 4 toward the surface of the substrate B being conveyed, the high-pressure processing liquid Xa is jetted obliquely. The good side processing liquid layer X1 formed on the surface of the substrate B is pushed to the good side by the flow,
The treatment liquid X on the right side is extremely thin and uniformly present on the surface of the.

Therefore, even if the substrate B is transferred from the upper processing tank 2 to the lower processing tank 3, the mixing of the upper processing liquid X into the lower processing tank 3 is kept to a minimum. In the lower processing tank 3, the upper processing liquid X is the lower processing liquid Y.
Does not adversely affect the processing of the substrate B.

Further, in the high-side processing tank 2, the high-side processing liquid X in the high-side liquid distilling tank 22 is used as the high-pressure processing liquid Xa, and the high-side processing liquid X is circulated and used. Therefore, the carry-out amount of the good processing liquid X is reduced, which is effective in reducing the supply amount of the good processing liquid X.

Moreover, unlike the prior art, the air is not supplied to the surface of the substrate B to drain the liquid, so that the surface of the substrate B moved from the upper processing tank 2 to the lower processing tank 3 is partially There is no drying, and the occurrence of unevenness on the surface of the substrate B due to partial drying is reliably prevented.

The present invention can employ the following embodiments in addition to the above embodiments.

(1) In the above embodiment, the liquid knife 4 is provided only at the upper edge of the opening 13a formed in the partition wall 13, but may be provided at the lower edge of the opening 13a. Alternatively, the treatment liquid may be sprayed onto the back surface of the substrate B by a liquid knife provided at the lower edge portion. By doing so, even if the upper processing liquid X is attached to the back surface of the substrate B, the mixing of the upper processing liquid X into the lower processing liquid Y is reliably suppressed.

(2) In the above embodiment, the high-hand side treatment liquid X in the high-hand side liquid distilling tank 22 is applied to the high-pressure treatment liquid Xa blown out from the liquid knife 4, but the present invention is not limited to this. The high-pressure processing liquid Xa ejected from the above is not limited to that from the upper-side liquid distilling tank 22, and if it is the same as the upper-side processing liquid X, it may be introduced from another processing liquid source. You may

(3) In the above embodiment, the liquid jet port 43a of the liquid knife 4 is formed by a slit-shaped opening extending in the direction (longitudinal direction) orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate B. Instead of forming the slit 43a into a slit shape, a nozzle that ejects the liquid in a fan shape may be adopted.

(4) In the above embodiment, the roller 14 which is rotationally driven is used as the transporting means for transporting the substrate B, but the transporting means is not limited to the roller 14 in the present invention, and a conveyor belt is used. May be used. In this case, the liquid knife 4 is provided only on the upper surface side of the substrate B.

(5) In the above embodiment, the developer is used as the upper processing liquid X and the pure water is used as the lower processing liquid Y.
The upper processing liquid X may be a cleaning liquid containing a detergent or the like for cleaning the front and back surfaces of the substrate B, and the lower processing liquid Y may be pure water that rinses the cleaning liquid from the substrate B. Further, the treatment liquid X on the good side is an acid for etching the metal thin film formed on the surface of the substrate B.
And the lower-side processing liquid Y may be pure water that rinses the etching liquid from the substrate B. further,
The upper processing liquid X is a stripping liquid for stripping the resist film deposited on the surface of the substrate B subjected to the etching treatment, and the lower processing liquid Y is a washing liquid for displacing the stripping liquid or a stripping liquid such as isopropyl alcohol. It may be pure water.

(6) In the above embodiment, the processing liquid supply pump 23a and the high-pressure liquid supply pump 2 are supplied to the upper processing liquid X.
Two pumps 4a and 4a are used, and the processing liquid supply pump 2
The upper processing liquid X discharged by 3a is sprinkled from the upper liquid dispersion pipe 21, and the upper processing liquid X discharged by the high-pressure liquid feed pump 24a is jetted from the liquid knife 4. As described above, instead of using two pumps, the one side pump discharges the superior side treatment liquid X to cover the sprinkling from the superior side sprinkling pipe 21 and the liquid jet from the liquid knife 4. Good.

[0051]

According to the invention described in claims 1 to 3 , the first processing liquid is applied to the width of the substrate by the liquid draining means in a direction inclined at a predetermined angle in the opposite direction to the substrate transport direction. Since the substrate having the layer of the first treatment liquid formed on the principal surface is drained by spraying in the direction, the treatment existing on the principal surface of the substrate by the ejection of the first treatment liquid. The liquid is blown away, and as a result, only a minimum amount of the first processing liquid is present in a thin film state on the downstream side of the portion of the main surface onto which the first processing liquid is sprayed. It is possible to reduce the carry-out amount of the first processing liquid to the processing region of the two processing liquids, and the first processing liquid is not mixed with the second processing liquid. The adverse effect on the substrate processing due to the inclusion of the is avoided.

Further, since the same first processing liquid is used for draining the first processing liquid on the substrate, as compared with the conventional case where liquid is drained by discharging gas from an air knife. Te, never the main surface of the substrate is partially dried, the occurrence of unevenness by partial drying of the substrate main surface is Ru is prevented
In, it no can take unevenness affect the final product
If the final product is a liquid crystal display,
Can be prevented from appearing .

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the first processing liquid is supplied from the first processing liquid supply means to the substrate by the circulation means, and the recovered first processing liquid is circulated and supplied again from the first processing liquid supply means to the substrate. Therefore, the amount of the first processing liquid used can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of a liquid knife provided in an opening of a partition wall.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid knife shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a control system of the substrate processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Substrate processing equipment 11 processing tank 12 Substrate processing room 13 partition walls 13a opening 13b prop 14 rollers (conveying means) 2 Good side processing tank 21 Hand side sprinkler tube 22 Liquid retention tank 23 Good side processing liquid supply line 23a Treatment liquid supply pump 23b filter 24 high pressure pipeline 24a High-pressure liquid feed pump 3 Good side processing tank 31 Lower Dispersion Tube 32 liquid storage tank 33 Lower processing liquid supply line 33a Treatment liquid supply pump 33b filter 4 Liquid knife 41 knife body 42 liquid passage 43 Nozzle part 43a Liquid injection port X Good side processing liquid X1 Good side processing liquid layer Xa High pressure treatment liquid Y Lower processing solution Y1 Lower processing liquid layer

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ identification code FI H01L 21/68 H01L 21/30 564Z 569D 21/306 J (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/304 H01L 21/027 H01L 21/306 H01L 21/68

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for supplying a plurality of different processing liquids while carrying a substrate to perform a predetermined processing, and a first processing liquid supply means for supplying a first processing liquid to a main surface of the substrate, The substrate, to which the first processing liquid is supplied from the first processing liquid supply means , is supported while being supported in a substantially horizontal posture and is directed toward the main surface of the substrate, and is in a direction opposite to the transfer direction of the substrate. The first treatment liquid is sprayed over the width direction of the substrate in a direction inclined at a predetermined angle to the treatment with the first treatment liquid.
A liquid removing means for performing a first liquid removing of the substrate layers are formed of the treatment liquid to the main surface after is performed, the second processing liquid that is different from the first treatment liquid to the main surface of the substrate that is drained off the And a second processing liquid supply means for supplying the second processing liquid. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1.
hand, The liquid draining means has a higher pressure than the first processing liquid supply means.
Characterized in that the first processing liquid is sprayed onto the substrate by
Substrate processing equipment. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.
Be careful Faster than during the supply of the processing liquid by the first processing liquid supply means
While transporting the substrate with the
Substrate processing characterized in that it is configured to supply
Processing equipment. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the first processing liquid supplying means and draining means are provided 1
The processing tank and the second processing tank, which is disposed adjacent to the first processing tank and is provided with the second processing liquid supply means, separates the first processing tank and the second processing tank from each other and passes through the substrate. A partition wall having an opening for allowing the first processing liquid to be supplied to the substrate from the first processing liquid supply means is collected, and the collected first processing liquid is circulated so as to be supplied from the first processing liquid supply means to the substrate. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a circulation unit.